We Have No Solutions to Gun Violence

Yes, I hate videos on the Internet, too. But you really need to watch this.  Gun violence is destroying inner city America yet it seems like only white, rural college shootings get the press.

We need solutions. Sadly every proposal I've seen from President Obama and  our "leaders" would accomplish nothing beyond harming law abiding citizens.  We really need solutions that will reduce Chicago violence.

We are witnessing America's Genocide.  We're shooting 11 month old babies.

The Racism in Gun Violence Reporting

It's been a tough, demanding news week. Between the Sunni led invasion and revolution in Iraq that genuinely threatens to topple the government and the controversial Bergdahl - Taliban prisoner exchange and the stunning Tea Party election victory over Republican Eric Cantor in the Virginia primary, it's amazing that anything broke into the news stream.

But one huge controversy did break through and occupied significant time on MSNBC, Fox News and CNN: A group called Everytown for Gun Safety released what they thought was a definitive list of all the school shooting since Sandy Hook, a stunning seventy-four examples of gun violence in or around school.

Immediately nearly everyone tore the list apart, claiming it was fatally flawed with non-school shootings, unrelated crimes and events like suicides that should not be included in the list.  However, Liberals and Gun Control Advocates trumpeted the list demanding increased gun laws and stricter licensing requirements.  After all, seventy-four school shootings is a nightmare.

Now, admittedly the list is a huge exaggeration.  CNN recompiled the list into actual school shootings and it only came up with ten (10).  But ten is still terrible.  And, regardless, the news cycle was dominated by statistics about past events, not a current event at all.

The real question is "Why?"  The answer is obvious. School Shootings are horrific. They are easy to visualize. I bet you can see it now ---> Innocent children mowed down by a machine gun wielding rambo-like maniac.  Of course we need gun control.

But maybe these school yard shootings get the press and publicity, public outcry and notoriety for another reason.  The victims are virtually always white.  So are the shooters.

You remember Sandy Hook In Sandy Hook twenty-seven were shot.

Last weekend, Father's Day Weekend, twenty-five (25) people were shot in south and west Chicago. One as young fifteen, another seventeen. By the way, the fifteen year old lived, the seventeen year old was killed. And this happens most weekends. A Sandy Hook every week.

No one reports this, but if they did, no one would talk about it. Why?

Is it because because most of the victims and shooters are black?  Is it because Chicago already has the toughest gun laws in America, laws that are rarely if ever enforced?

There is just no milage in discussing America's Genocide. No one can profit. No one can raise money. No one can lobby for tougher laws.

And no one wants to even brooch the real issues of societal breakdown behind the gang related violence.

We Liberals love to blame guns because they are inanimate objects.  People? Not so much.

Justice for Sterling Sims

This eighteen year old in a hoodie is not Trayvon Martin, although I'm willing to bet if you showed his picture to any random hundred people at least half would tell you it's Trayvon and probably launch into a rant about injustice in America.  

However, this eighteen year old is Antonio Lewis and he was arrested yesterday for the cold blooded murder of five year old Sterling Sims and his mother, 31 year old Chavonne Brown.  You might remember I wrote demanding JUSTICE for Sterling Sims last July 16th.

Sadly Antonio Lewis is just one more tragic example of the dysfunctional world that is the south side of Chicago.  In Chicago and across America murder rates of young blacks has reached genocidal proportions.  

I keep saying that guns don't kill.  But police that fail to lock up a young man arrested not once, but twice, for illegal use of a firearm in the months leading up to the killing of a 5 year old and his mom deserve a lot of blame for the murders they might have prevented.  What the hell is going on in Chicago?

The police might never even have arrested Antonio Lewis if not for the fact Antonio was shot himself in another act of Chicago street violence less than 24 hours after he shot and killed little Sterling!  

Lewis was shot in the back, neck and groin in a separate incident.  Reports I've gathered so far give no indication of his shooter has been identified or arrested.

However, as of last night, Antonio Lewis has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.  If he recovers from his very severe wounds, he faces a lifetime in prison.

So Sterling Sims will receive some sort justice, if that actually matters after a five year old's life has been cut short. Somehow I'm even more sad than ever.

For reference here is the ABC News report on the Antonio Lewis arrest from Chicago
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Sterling Sims older sister Sabrina made this tribute video for her little brother Sterling and her mother Chavonne.  Please join me in watching this and working to bring an end to our American Genocide.

The Gun Control Debate is Stunningly Stupid

Although the Senate is deep into negotiations about much needed Immigration Reform, there are behind the scene maneuverings to attempt another effort to pass reasonable Gun Control legislation.  Of course Conservatives immediately see these maneuvers and are already working to block these efforts.

While I find no fault in the proposed gun control legislation, I personally hate to see Democrats, Liberals and Progressives waste much needed time, effort and money trying to pass a bill that will not reduce gun violence by even a single death.  Emotions will run high, passions will be inflamed, the nation will be even more deeply divided (if that's possible), and people will still die in genocidal numbers.

Our problem here as Democrats, Progressives and Liberals is that our Conservative opponents are 100% correct: Guns Don't Kill People, People Kill People!  If we genuinely want to reduce gun violence and needless deaths we have got to start attacking the real problems and guns aren't one of them.

I write often about murders and gun violence in Chicago.  It's easy to focus on Chicago because reporting is so good, statistics so readily available and the violence is so pervasive.  If you were only to read my blog you would think Chicago is the most dangerous place on earth.

The reality is that most of Chicago is just about the safest place in America!!  In fact in the parts of Chicago where most of the "known" guns are located (that would be legally purchased, licensed, registered and/or documented guns or rifles) there is little or no gun violence!  Curiously guns don't kill people in the North side of Chicago.  The guns are there, they people are there, but there is no violence.  In half of Chicago's 23 police districts there are virtually no murders.

But on Chicago's South and West sides, in fact in just a small part of Chicago geographically, virtually all the murders and shooting occur.  Almost all the guns are illegal, unreported and illegally obtained.  The police classify this as "gang violence."

If, as Liberals, we are bound and determined to blame inanimate objects for society's problems, then we must point out that guns are strangely prejudiced against the poor and against blacks, because that's who they shoot, wound and kill.  Damn those racist guns!.

The real factors in gun violence are poverty, lack of education and lack of opportunity.  In an incredibly controversial speech this week Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis decried the lack of funding for schools on Chicago's south and west sides.  She also condemned the lack of effort on the part of city leaders and "white" businessmen in investing in these communities.  Unfortunately she blamed "racism" and the resulting controversy obscured the real wisdom in her observations.

We must find ways to invest in children in the poverty stricken portions of Chicago.  We must improve education.  And we must change the cycle of violence, drugs, gangs and poverty that go on generation after generation.

Curiously, if we do that, the guns will become as silent on the South Side of Chicago as they are on the North side.

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Resources: ABC News: Chicago Teachers Union president calls for tax changes to fund schools

The New York Times: In a Soaring Homicide Rate, a Divide in Chicago

And the very powerful, interactive website that tracks Homicides on Chicago: Redeye Tracking homicides in Chicago

Claiming Hate Stops Debate

One of my favorite bloggers, the great Lee Kiester whose blog "Lee's Tid Bits" I recommend you read daily, started me off on a journey that ultimately led to an insightful article written by Rachel Alexander in the Tea Party Tribune.  Before you dismiss the source for being associated with the "Tea Party" you need to take time to consider what Rachel has written.

Her title neatly summarizes the entire article - The Power of Being “Offended” in Order to Shut Down Political Debate  Let me reprint just a small portion of what Rachel has written.

Has society really become quite thin-skinned, or is acting “offended” a new tactic that is being used to shut down legitimate political debate? Progressives are increasingly claiming to be offended whenever those on the right disagree with their left-wing positions. It doesn’t matter what the issue is; the left will divert a legitimate political debate into an accusation that the right disagrees with them because they are full of hate towards them. This puts the right on the defensive, and removes the real debate from discussion. It then becomes difficult for the right to ever prevail with their position, because to do so would mean “hate” had won.

Economics? Disagree with welfare, and you’re full of hate and intolerance towards the poor. Social issues? Disagree with the left on abortion or gay marriage, and you don’t like women or gays. Foreign policy? Disagree on foreign policy, and you hate Muslims, Palestinians, and the poor in less fortunate countries. Second Amendment? If you support gun rights, then you have a cold and callous view towards the victims of gun violence. Affirmative action? If you disagree with affirmative action, then you’re a racist. Unions? Disagree with them, and you despise working-class Americans.

This really resonates with me because, like many of you, I watch Morning Joe on MSNBC many mornings each week.  I like Jos Scarborough and I am especially fond of Joe's co-host Mika Brzezinski. However, since the defeat of the Gun Control Bill in the US Senate Mika has been passionately lobbying every day for Gun Control and background check expansion.  Passionate may well be an understatement.

No one has ever accused MSNBC or even Morning Joe of being fair and balanced, but Mika's name calling, vilification and condemnation of all gun control opponents has gone out of control.  They are EVIL They are all EVIL. They are all puppets of the NRA. They are all being paid off. They hate children. They don't care who dies. They are all EVIL. And, moreover, they are very, very, very EVIL. 

Ahhh.. the Evil Doers. Mika Tweets their names. She posts their phone numbers. She implores her viewers to call and tweet  They are pathetic. They are cowards. They are all EVIL.

What's been absent is any real discussion of the issues.  Never are any of the EVIL DOERS given an opportunity to explain, tell their side or debate.  The position of gun rights advocates never sees the light of day.  Except when Joe ridicules them himself.

As Tea Party Advocate Rachel Alexander might explain, on MSNBC HATE has won.  Debate has lost. Discussion has lost. Reason has lost. Civility has lost,  Sadly everyone has lost.

Prescribing a Placebo

Today President Obama will visit Chicago, ground zero of America's Genocide. Thousands of young black Americans will be murdered this year, many right in the heart of Chicago.

But President Obama will actually ignore the genocide, he will never mention it or the factors behind it. He will offer no solutions, advice or even moral guidance. He will actually pretend the genocide isn't happening. Instead he will go to Chicago to recommend that we make guns that are already illegal in Chicago... illegal.

He will "probably" blame Republicans and the NRA for fighting his efforts to reduce gun violence by making law abiding citizens go through additional steps in purchasing and owning guns. While I have no objections to the President's proposals, they will accomplish NOTHING.

The people Obama wants to further regulate, register and restrict commit no crimes. The are not even remotely part of America's Genocide.  His proposed laws will actually penalize the moist honest and most loyal and most law abiding people in the entire nation.

So what will the laws President Obama propose accomplish? Well, they will allow Doctor Obama to tell folks he is trying to do something. He's offering a prescription to reduce gun violence.

If only it were true.

Doctor Obama ought to be sued for malpractice. He is lying to the patient about the diagnosis. He is not offering the prescription that could potentially save thousands of lives. He should not be practicing medicine ... or governing.

Chicago Mother Loses All Four Children to Gun Violence

Shirley Chambers had four wonderful children.  Like all mothers she had hopes and dreams for every one of them.  Today all four are dead, victims of America's Genocide, the epidemic we lack the honesty or courage to address.

Shirley's oldest boy, Carlos, was shot by a classmate when he was only 18 years old.  The tragedy was almost too much to bear.

Shirley lived in the infamous Cabrini-Green welfare housing development, which thankfully has been torn down.  But not before gang violence in the apartment complex claimed the life of Shirley's daughter, LaToya.  LaToya was caught in the cross fire of gang warfare right in the Cabrini-Green lobby.

Only two months later LaToya's older brother Jerome was shot and killed, likely a victim of gang violence.

Shirley Chambers begged and pleaded for her only remaining child, Ronnie, to abandon the gang lifestyle and chose a different path in life.  Ronnie, who was known by his nickname "Scoobie" did just that and turned into a mentor, helping other young men leave the gangs and explore other pathways, including music.  He became a notable rap performer and recently appeared on Ricki Lake's Chicago television show.

He told Ricki that the murders of his two brothers and sister made him change his life.

"That right there, you know, me in and out of jail, let me know I had to do something different," Chambers said.

Just one month later Scoobie was dead, shot in the head as he sat in a parked car.

Shirley Chambers has lost all four children to gun violence.  None were killed with so-called "assault weapons."   None of the murders would be prevented by the gun control legislation President Obama has proposed.

And, in spite of Rev. Jesse Jackson's pleas yesterday, President Obama has no plans to visit Chicago or to propose any solutions to reduce the real gun violence destroying America.

The 0.003% Solution

The entirely too painful to watch gun control debate continues in Washington, D.C. and on a cable television news channel near you.  I am beginning to fear that virtually nothing will actually come of any of this.

There are three reasons for this.  First, in spite of the histrionics from Democratic Party stalwarts, there simply is no national will to make this happen.  There is no groundswell of support for gun control as outlined by the President.

Second, the N.R.A. has again proven to be well organized, logical in their arguments and powerful in their lobbying.  It really, really helps them that they are technically correct and often morally correct in many arguments they make.

Lastly, gun control will fail because our leaders, from President Obama on down, lack the courage to address the real issues of violence in our country.

Let's analyze the facts. There are about 30,000 gun deaths in our country every year.  But the facts are that 2/3rds of them are self inflicted gunshots, usually suicides, not gun violence or murder.

Of the remaining 1/3rd the largest chunk comes from gang violence, drug violence and domestic violence.  Virtually all of these deaths are caused by handguns and simple rifles, not so called "assault weapons."

Although Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado get all the television coverage and politician's outrage, they account for only 0.003% of the total.  That's not three percent, but three one-thousandths of one percent.  And yet President Obama and the gun control advocates are attempting to push their ill conceived legislation to reduce this tiny percentage of the problem. They ignore the real problems of gun violence and death because it's politically inconvenient.  It would take genuine courage.

No one wants a Sandy Hook to ever happen again, Not Ever.  But the solution to that event is already thoroughly outlined, understood and being implemented.  Wayne LaPierre and the N.R.A. had that one right on day one and everybody knew it.

The tragedy is that no one has the courage to address the really big problem of black on black gang violence.  Our very own national genocide continues every day in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and nearly every major metropolitan area in America: Death... after Death... after unreported and ignored Death.

The most unlikely of activists, economist and conservative firebrand Ben Stein, addressed this lack of leadership in this week's American Spectator in his article   He’s the Biggest Celebrity in the World Below are some of Ben's key points. Please read his entire article.

...deaths by firearms are wildly heavily concentrated in the African-American population of this country. The rate of firearms deaths per 100,000 population is about four times higher in the black population than in the white population. Gang-related killings account for much of this difference. In large cities with mostly black populations — such as Newark, Detroit, New Orleans — the rate of firearms deaths is almost unbelievably high compared with the rate in the mostly white suburbs.

In any given week, on any given weekend, dozens of black youths are gunned down by other blacks in America’s cities. This is a horror show happening in real life. The total number of deaths from this ongoing disaster far outpaces the deaths in mass killings in Aurora or Newtown.

Now, in no way should either of these grim phenomena be used to minimize the other. But it amazes me that the whole country, the whole world, goes berserk about the killings in a charming town in Connecticut, as we should — while the daily slaughter of black youths by other black youths is just part of the wallpaper of modern life.

Obviously, we would like to stop as much gun homicide in any area as we can. But I have not seen any proposal from the White House that would make it a national priority to seriously crack down on gang activity, drug sales turf activity, just plain macho g-thing activity and to take the Glocks out of the inner city.

Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. And we pay very little attention to it when the people on both ends of the barrel are black. The national shame of gun violence is not coming from gun shows or guns that look like military weapons. It’s not coming from Idaho or Montana or Wyoming or the duck blinds of Talbot County, Maryland. It’s coming from people who live in a culture of violence and death that we as a nation sometimes worship and more often ignore. Something’s very wrong here.

Us Versus Them

Politics has always been a team sport.  We divide into teams, Republicans versus Democrats or Conservatives versus Liberals.  There are smaller teams, too, Libertarians, Environmentalists, Communists and even more.  We self identify and, often, belong to more than one team.

Many don't join a team, at least not officially.  But we often side with one team or another with regularity.

Catering to this political division, our television news networks have recently become voices for "primarily" one team.  Fox News is often seen as a "Republican" voice.  More recently MSNBC has become a "Democratic Party" voice.

We trust and read and listen to people we perceive are on our team.  They have credibility.  They are seen as honest, intelligent, articulate, wise.  People who are seen as members of the "other team" are foolish, gullible, doctrinaire, duplicitous and, generally, just plain stupid.

Hence Liberals tend to fawn over the writings of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, giving him nearly unlimited credibility, regardless of what he writes and on what subject.  Meanwhile Conservatives see him as foolish and much worse.

On the issue of gun control, Conservatives love Wayne LaPierre, chairman of the NRA, while Progressives regard him a paid lackey for the gun industry who cares nothing about the death of innocent children.

Us versus Them.

Then along comes Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright David Mamet, author of Glenarry Glen Ross, Speed the Plow and other great plays.  He's an Oscar nominated screenwriter for The Verdict and Wag the Dog and more.  Generally his movies and plays are clearly anti big business anti Capitalist tomes.  As a Liberal and Progressive, surely he's one of us. Isn't he?

I mean he's sure as hell no Wayne LaPierre, is he?  Well, Huffington Post readers who actually pay attention already know he is a Hollywood misfit, a conservative is a big liberal pond.  But nearly the rest of the world is shocked by his cover story in this week's Newsweek: Gun Laws and the Fools of Chelm

I want to encourage you all to read the Newsweek essay linked above and below.  It's stunningly brilliant.  And Manet, just like Wayne LaPierre is completely correct.  Here's a tiny snippet or two:

My grandmother came from Russian Poland, near the Polish city of Chelm. Chelm was celebrated, by the Ashkenazi Jews, as the place where the fools dwelt. And my grandmother loved to tell the traditional stories of Chelm.

Its residents, for example, once decided that there was no point in having the sun shine during the day, when it was light out—it would be better should it shine at night, when it was dark. 

Similarly, we modern Solons delight in passing gun laws that, in their entirety, amount to “making crime illegal.” What possible purpose in declaring schools “gun-free zones”?

Who bringing a gun, with evil intent, into a school would be deterred by the sign?

Violence by firearms is most prevalent in big cities with the strictest gun laws. In Chicago and Washington, D.C., for example, it is only the criminals who have guns, the law-abiding populace having been disarmed, and so crime runs riot. 

Cities of similar size in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and elsewhere, which leave the citizen the right to keep and bear arms, guaranteed in the Constitution, typically are much safer. More legal guns equal less crime.

Read his entire essay here: Gun Laws and the Fools of Chelm

Ending Gun Violence

This past Wednesday President Obama outlined a broad and complex series of initiatives to curb gun violence in America.  Many steps he outlined will require new legislation, but a large number of measures he instituted through Executive Order.  By and large I agree with his "Executive Order" measures.  However, new legislation is unlikely to pass.

There are two very unfortunate side effects of the Obama initiatives.  First his heavy handed and combative approach further deepened the divide in our society over this contentious issue.  Obama further inflamed tempers and increased friction in our already over-heated political atmosphere.  Lats face it, President Obama does not want to be, and is incapable of being, a conciliator.

Second, every step President Obama outlined, even if fully implemented would not curb gun violence one tiny bit.  It likely would make it worse.

Gun violence can be curbed. In fact it can be nearly eliminated.  But not by making criminals out of America's most law abiding citizens.  Obama's laws are all designed to restrict and restrain good honest people, they do nothing to affect the criminals.

Many cities and communities across America are taking real action to reduce gun violence.  None are doing it by further restricting guns.  One example is tremendous success is Aurora, Illinois.  Aurora is Illinois second largest city, is near Chicago, and was one of the deadliest cities in America just a few short years ago.

Just eight years ago the murder rate in Aurora exceeded the rate in Chicago.  Over the last eight years gun violence and murders in Chicago has gotten worse, while in 2012 Aurora did not have one single homicide!  Not one!!  And there were only 61 incidents of gun violence, an 80% reduction from the peak in 1996.

How did Aurora do it while simultaneously having a population explosion?  It took a multifaceted d approach to solving the underlying issues of poverty, gang violence, education and opportunity.

Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said there are no quick fixes for reducing the number of murders in any community.

Thomas said that a key factor was getting help from the community, getting kids into after-school programs and the Junior ROTC.

The police department also tried to keep young people from joining gangs through it’s “Knock and Talk” program.

If the police caught wind that a certain young person was trying to become involved in a gang, police would talk to the young person’s parent and inform them of the signs to watch for from their son or daughter.

Rev. Pat McManus, pastor at Kingdom Impact Center, is one of several aurora ministers who held prayer vigils at every murder scene in past years, encouraging neighbors to fight back. “We’re all working together, doing the same thing, having the same focus to truly see the city turn,” he said.

Thomas said Aurora started focusing in 2005 on the worst of the repeat criminals and getting them locked up in federal prisons.

“If you look at about 2005 to 2007, we took about 150 high-ranking gang members, shooters off the streets in Aurora, with help from federal partnerships with the ATF and FBI. I think that was a big contributor,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the reduction in the murder rate is the culmination of a long team effort, and the results have been dramatic. Thomas credited a crackdown on gangs, assisted by federal authorities. Thomas also credited use of the CompStat system, which uses crime statistics to focus police resources on hot spots of activity.

East Aurora was once the center of much of the city’s gang and drug violence, but in the neighborhoods, and the lively businesses, residents feel the change. “I believe my kids are in less danger,” one woman said.

“I feel a lot safer,” one man said.

“I think it should get out, you know? Come live in Aurora, It’s a safe place,” another man said.

Certainly the growth Aurora has experienced has helped by opening up job opportunities.

One thing Chicago's overly tough gun laws have proved beyond any doubt: Gun Control DOES NOT reduce gun violence.  Social, civic and law enforcement solutions like those implemented in Aurora do.

The following resources were helpful in preparing this blog entry.  In some cases quotes for city officials and residents were taken from these news stories and I am indebted to the reporters who did the real work in researching this information:

CBS 2 Chicago

Democratic Underground dot com

HUFF POST Chicago

City of Aurora Website

Choice

I am working on my next blog entry on curbing violence and violent crime.  As I mentioned in last week's blog entry, gun control is not part of any real solution.  None-the-less President Obama and many Governors are making Gun Control their primary response to the current wave of violence.  Unfortunately, Obama's approach is badly dividing Americans. That is a shame and will only serve to further polarize our nation.

One example of the heated feelings being generate by the left's current attack on guns, is this image and message, which has gone viral on Facebook and elsewhere.  Keep in mind that AT LEAST 50% of all Americans agree with this message.

The Gun Control Battle: Attack the Law Abiding Citizens

As I stated in my last blog entry, Liberals love to condemn inanimate objects, organizations, corporations, large demographic groups of people and (very, very, very rarely) the government rather than individuals in placing blame for society's ills.  I tangentially pointed out that law abiding citizens were likely to be blamed (especially if they are part of a large group) but lawbreakers are showered with excuses, mitigating circumstances and forgiveness.

It is a curious mindset that defies explanation.  But it has been on full display this last two weeks courtesy of the lower Hudson Valley Journal News, a Gannett newspaper, and their dynamic web site, lohud.com. The Journal News decided to publish, on an interactive map, the names and addresses of all REGISTERED GUN OWNERS in their area.

It certainly didn't matter to the Journal News that, statistically, these are probably the most honest and law abiding citizens in their readership area.  It didn't matter that these folks went out of their way to meticulously obey the law. These people were named and branded as public enemy number one!

Now, obviously, The Journal News couldn't list the names of the illegal and unregistered gun owners, because, well, these people are actually criminals.  But,as near as I can tell, The News Journal, pretty much always ignores criminals.

I couldn't find, for example, a listing, interactive or otherwise, of registered sex offenders.  As a parent and grandparent I'm a lot more interested in who is a sex offender in my neighborhood than who is a gun owner.

There is no list of parolees who have been released from prison, but are still paying the price for their crimes against the community.

There are no gang member listings or even locations of gang activity.

I couldn't find a list of under performing schools or teachers.

Any interactive list of deadbeat dads who fail to provide for their children was curiously missing, too.

This is all because Liberals blame the guns.  It's easy, clean and simple.  We never blame people.

As we build new gun control laws, you can bet they will only further restrict honest, law abiding, registered gun owners.  They will do nothing to restrain criminals or reduce criminal gun violence.

Gun murders can be reduced or nearly eliminated.  One major metropolitan area has actually done it! ZERO murders in 2012!!! And gun control laws had absolutely nothing to do with the solution. More on that in my next blog entry.

Solving Gun Violence

A tragic and horribly misplaced approach of today's liberal and progressive leaders is to blame inanimate objects or cultural attitudes or corporations (which today's liberals see as inanimate objects) or, rarely, government for any and all of today's ills.  But we avoid any assignment of personal responsibility at all costs. Even if the cost is in human lives.

Gun deaths and gun violence is no exception.

First we blame the guns themselves.  And, of course that allows us to blame the NRA. From there it's easy to blame the gun manufacturers, gun sellers and gun owners (as a group, of course, and primarily if they're legal, registered gun owners).

Quickly we blame lax gun laws, gun shows and gun registration.  We blame large ammunition clips and semi-automatic weapons.

Next we blame the lack of jobs, poverty in general, or as Reverend Jessie Jackson did this week, a "lack of dreams."

Curiously we don't blame Hollywood or the media culture of violence very often. I'm guessing that's because many of the people in Hollywood are wealthy liberals who contribute verbally and, rather rarely, financially to our causes.  Best not bite the hand that feeds. But that's a very minor side point.

But we avoid any assignment of personal responsibility.  We do not, under any circumstances blame personal lifestyles, personal choices or personal decisions. We never allow any blame that would insult or hurt an individual or the choices they have made or failed to make.

If a person drops out of school, that's the school's fault. A school system is a great inanimate object.  But we never blame the teachers, or even dare to measure a teacher's ability or success.  That's personal and we don't do personal.

Because of our tragically failed approach to problems we have the great tragedy of gun violence in our society.  And the iconic symbol of our failure in curbing gun violence is not Newtown, Connecticut, but Chicago Illinois.

Chicago had 500 hundred murders this year, 87.5% of which were "gun related."  And they took place in city with the tightest, toughest gun laws in America.  Babies, children, teen and adults were all killed, with the toughest gun laws in place.

Did you realize that virtually no murders are committed by people with "concealed carry" permits? Nationally. Almost none. It turns out that murders are committed by criminals.  Who knew?

I personally have no problem with tougher gun laws.  I believe some new gun laws will emerge from Congress this next year and they'll have my strong personal support.  They won't solve any problems, but my fellow liberal will feel better.

But no gun law currently being proposed or discussed will prevent the tragedy in Newtown or reduce murders in Chicago (or anywhere else).

Both Ann Coulter and the vilified NRA know exactly how to stop future Newtown's from happening.  We will condemn them with our strongest voices of righteous indignation. We will call them "racists" and "neanderthals" and then we will quickly and quietly implement their solutions because they are right. Curiously, Ann Coulter is almost always right.

And Larry Elder knows how to solve the poverty problem, which does lead directly to the gun and gang violence in Chicago.  Our problem is that, as liberals, we've decided to take personal responsibility off the table and, therefore we cannot consider Elder's solutions.  Let me print some of what Elder has to say:

“To avoid poverty, UCLA public policy professor James Q. Wilson said that everyone — not just blacks — must do three things: finish high school, don’t become a parent until at least the age of twenty, and get married before having a child. Do this and you will not be poor,” 

Elder said. “I once asked Kweisi Mfume, then the head of the NAACP the following question: ‘As between the presence of white racism and the absence of black fathers, which poses the bigger threat to the black community.’ He immediately responded, ‘The absence of black fathers.’ Screaming about racism won’t solve this problem.”

“And if every white person, as my friend Walter Williams likes to say, suddenly became as pure as Mother Teresa, the problem of a 50 percent urban high school drop out rate would remain,” he added.

I want to be clear. I favor gay and lesbian marriage.  But Elder is right, we need two parent families.  Two men, two women or a man and women, I don't care.  But marriage need to occur before childbirth.  And life long commitment is a key.

Poverty rarely occurs in two parent families.  School drop-outs are reduced, too. Be honest, a single parent doesn't have the time or financial resources to attend school meetings, join the PTA and lead fund drives for more resources.  They often don't have the time to help with homework.

Poor single parents are good people, but they are handicapped  financially and functionally.  They love their kids, but they are stressed to the limit.

We cannot and must not legislate marriage. But, as a society, we need to realize strong family units are a key to a healthy society.  And, as liberals, we must look beyond the inanimate and toward the personal if we are truly to make an impact and begin to actually solve problems.